Hail Mary
Our relationship with alcohol can be… complicated. We drink to toast a celebration; we drink to commiserate a loss; we drink to the past, present and future; we drink to forget and we drink to regret. Sometimes we just drink – for no other reason besides the fact that it’s there, omnipotent, and the done thing.
There are few greater pleasures in life than flooding the palate with an exquisite spirit or glass of wine, but there’s a reason why whisky is poured by the finger and buckets are offered at wine tastings. Alcohol dulls the senses. The irony of drinking is that the more we get into it, the less we experience – lucidly, at least. These nectars, painstakingly layered with flavour and subtlety, hit numb taste buds by drink three or four. And in our reverence, an exercise in taste can descend into something we regret, with nothing but a hangover to mark the evening.
A London start-up called ‘Illogical Drinks’ has defied its moniker and created the most sensible tipple on the market. Mary is the world’s first low calorie, lower alcohol botanical blend. At just 6% ABV, Mary hails an inverted culture of drinking. Flavour is the focus, with intoxication creeping in at a treacly pace. To put it in perspective, you would need to drink six glasses of Mary to keep up with the alcohol intake of someone who had just had one gin and tonic. This allows for a full exploration of the flavour – a slow burn that lets you keep sipping without slipping.
Mary has been designed to have a lighter touch on the body, mind and wider world. By adding just a small amount of alcohol, it still has a sophisticated feel that elevates it above a zero-alcohol or soft drink, but doesn’t carry the heavy effects of a traditional spirit. Mary’s deliciously fresh, but sophisticatedly dry taste is derived from sustainably sourced plants including basil, thyme and sage, and is perfectly paired with tonic water.
“There are a lot of pressures in today’s world. People are making lifestyle changes – including what they are drinking. So far, many new drink options are focused on zero alcohol, but not everyone wants to be a teetotaller or have a full-strength drink. Some people want to simply moderate how much alcohol they put into their bodies and balance their lifestyle – but most of all they want to feel good about their choices. We made Mary, a drink you can feel good about by being lighter on you and on the world,”
—Eric Sampers, Managing Director of ILLOGICAL DRINKS and former Pernod Ricard Beefeater Gin Brand Director.
This is, dare we say, the healthiest way one can enjoy drink and its affinity with the Earth doesn’t stop at its botanical makeup. The packaging is 100% recyclable and almost devoid of any plastics. So, raise a glass or six, and let the hangover be damned!
